HILO » The University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy is delaying work on an environmental impact statement for a telescope to be built atop Mauna Kea on the Big Island.

Plans had called for a draft EIS early this year for the Panoramic Survey Telescope And Rapid Response System, better known as Pan-STARRS.

But the institute said the draft will be delayed for a year to 18 months while astronomers focus on fine-tuning the telescope's prototypes on Haleakala.

The Pan-STARRS program calls for four powerful digital cameras to rapidly scan the sky to detect large asteroids and comets heading toward Earth. The project would replace a nearly 38-year-old University of Hawaii 88-inch telescope.